Mississippi State defeats UConn to advance to NCAA title game, end Huskies’ 111 game win streak

The result will make just about any sports fan do a double-take, but the Mississippi State Bulldogs are heading to the NCAA championship to take on fellow SEC program South Carolina.

That is not to say that the Bulldogs aren’t good enough to be playing for the title, of course. It’s not about them at all, really. It’s about who they just played, and beat. Coming into tonight’s game, Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies had won 111 games in a row, the longest streak in collegiate sports history for a team. But on Friday night, David slayed Goliath as Mississippi State beat the seemingly unbeatable Huskies 66 to 64 in overtime on a buzzer-beater by Morgan William.

You wouldn’t suspect it considering their opponent and the fact that they won the game, but Mississippi State didn’t have a very good game on the offensive end. The Bulldogs shot just 36.4 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from three.

But they completely dominated the defensive end of the court, holding a UConn team who averaged 87.7 points per game this season to just 64 points. The Huskies shot relatively well — 43.5 percent from the field — but far more turnovers and far fewer rebounds than the Bulldogs.

With this victory — which some are already calling one of the biggest upsets in sports history — Mississippi State will move on to try and complete their tournament run with a national title. The Gamecocks won the teams’ lone matchup this season, 64-61.